ATHLETICS:Ireland's sole Olympic 1,500-metres qualifier Ciarán O Lionaird has made dramatic changes to his coaching and training set-up less than three months away from the London Olympics.
The Cork runner only last October moved out to Portland, Oregon, to train with the Nike Distance Project under American coaches Alberto Salazar and Steve Magness, and alongside the likes of Britain’s Mo Farah and American distance star Galen Rupp.
But having struggled, it seems, to build on his 2011 form – which saw him run 3:34.46 for the 1,500m and finish an excellent 10th at the World Championships in Daegu – O Lionaird has decided to move to nearby Eugene, about 130 miles away, to train with the Oregon Track Club Elite under coach Mark Rowland, the former British steeplechase record holder.
O Lionaird felt he needed to make the change: “At a personal level I feel like I needed a change. I think moving down to Eugene will be a good change for me on both a personal and a training level.”
IAN O’RIORDAN
